Originally published January 2 2006
Turkish journalists to stand trial for comments made about World War I
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
In Turkey, a state prosecutor has filed charges against five respected newspaper columnists for making comments about the massacre of Armenians in World War I, and the trials will prove the latest stage upon which Turkey's bid to enter the European Union will be determined.
In a fresh test of Turkey's human rights record and its bid to join the EU, a state prosecutor has filed charges against five journalists for comments they made on a conference about World War One massacres of Armenians.
The five respected newspaper columnists face between six months and 10 years in jail if found guilty of the charges of "trying to influence the judicial process" and "insulting state judicial organs", Turkish media reported on Saturday.
Four of the five columnists are being charged under the controversial Article 301 of Turkey's penal code -- the same used against the country's most famous novelist, Orhan Pamuk, whose trial begins on Dec. 16, and many other journalists.
The journalists had all criticised efforts by prosecutors and nationalist lawyers to ban a September academic conference at two universities in Istanbul dedicated to the massacre of Armenians by Ottoman Turkish forces 90 years ago.
Although a court blocked the conference at the prosecutors' request -- much to the embarrassment of Turkey's pro-EU government -- organisers circumvented the ban at the last minute by moving the venue to a third university in Istanbul.
Ankara has always denied claims that the Ottoman forces committed genocide against local Armenians but, under EU pressure, has called for historians to debate the issue.
Pamuk, the internationally known author of such novels as "My Name is Red" and "Snow", caused a furore earlier this year when he said Turkey should face up to its responsibility for the deaths of the Armenians.
European Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn has called Pamuk's trial "a provocation" by conservative forces opposed to Turkey's efforts to join the European Union.
The timing of the charges against Pamuk and the journalists is awkward for Turkey as it tries to overcome long-standing EU doubts over its commitment to freedom of expression.
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